Research and Assessment of Learning Environments through Photoelicitation: Graduate Student Perceptions of Electronics Manufacturing in India

Berdanier, Catherine G. P.; Cox, Monica F.

Advances in Engineering Education, v4 n4 Sum 2015

This research studies the positive and negative perceptions of graduate students from the United States studying issues of sustainable electronics and electronics manufacturing in India as part of a National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) curriculum. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of an online photoelicitation method, which intends to probe learning experiences from the graduate students' international experience through the use of participant-generated photographs taken during the trip. This research provides insight on the importance of international learning experiences in graduate-level engineering education and the value of non-traditional formats of graduate student learning. This research exemplifies the use of this novel method in research and educational assessment of non-traditional learning environments, as well as offers interested engineering educators guidelines to implementing this technique in their individual contexts.